Computer science graduate student Prerana Prakash has been honored with a Student Community Leadership Award for her work in supporting and encouraging women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – the so-called STEM fields.

The UT Dallas Women’s Center nominated Prakash for her efforts to help women in India, her home country, through education initiatives, tutoring and community engagement programs.

At the 17th annual Women of Color (WOC) STEM Conference, hosted by the Career Communications Group, Prakash was recognized before an audience of more than 800 STEM professionals and college students. She will also be featured in an article in the upcoming Women of Color magazine.

“It was a great experience to meet and network with so many women across different domains who are excelling in their areas of work,” said Prakash.

At the conference, Prakash attended workshops where women from executive ranks discussed myriad topics, including how to balance work with personal life, the importance of diversity initiatives and how to collaborate with peers to better assess professional development.

According to a 2011 report by the U.S. Department of Commerce, women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, but they hold fewer than 25 percent of the STEM jobs.

“Listening to all the work done by women in STEM today not only inspired me to excel, but also to motivate young women to take up careers in STEM,” added Prakash.

The 2012 WOC Stem Conference was held Oct. 11-13 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas.